The Dateline: Unforgettable episode What Happened to Amy explores the mysterious disappearance of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic on October 27, 1989. Months later, on February 8, 1990, her body was discovered miles away on a field in Ashland, Ohio.
Dateline correspondent Josh Mankiewicz has covered Amy's case, where we learn about some gruesome details of the incident that took place more than thirty years ago. As per reports, moments before her disappearance Amy received a call from an unknown man who claimed to know her mother.
The unidentified person told Amy that her mom got a promotion at work and they should go buy a gift for her. Amy confided in a classmate about the whole thing and left school at 2 p.m. to go meet the man at the nearby Bay Village Square shopping center.
Bay Village Police Chief Mark Spaetzel had reportedly told Dateline:
"She seemed to be waiting for somebody and they both described at some point a male walked up to her and engaged her in conversation. They looked away, you know, carried on their business, talking with their friends, and when they looked back, Amy was gone."
It was the last time that anyone had seen her and her body was found long afterward. The police have not been able to solve her murder for a very long time but a recent tip from a woman who reportedly identified her former boyfriend as the killer has drawn a lot of media attention.
Mankiewicz has further explained saying,
"What happened to Amy Mihaljevic still haunts those who know her story and there are many. It changed everything for her family and for life as usual in the town where she lived."
What happened to 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic?
When Amy's body was discovered in 1990, it was revealed that she had been hit on her head as well as stabbed in the neck. She was found lying on a field, a long distance away in Ashland Ohio.
Her medical reports could not confirm it, but some of the evidence inferred s*xual assault. As per the medical examiner, she was likely murdered shortly after her abduction. Amy's murder has not yet been solved but further investigation has shed some light on the riddles, as covered on Dateline.
Dateline: Unforgettable: What happened on the day of Amy's murder?
On the day of Amy's disappearance, a young police officer named Spaetzel visited her school to give present a talk about being safe around strangers. However, it did not make Amy skip her plans with the unidentified man and she unfortunately went to the shopping center which was quite a famous after-school hangout spot.
Spaetzel had told Dateline in a statement:
"It’s one of those things you know, is there something else I could have said?"
As reported on Dateline, the person who had arranged to meet up with Amy knew vividly about her mother Margaret's work details. In a chilling turn of events, he let Amy call her mom that afternoon, sharp at 3:30 p.m. - letting her know that she had reached home safely just like she always did.
Her mother also assumed that Amy was safe back at home, FBI agent Phil Torsney had reported,
"When Amy calls her mother she doesn’t appear upset, there’s no indication anything’s wrong. There’s no red flags up, she doesn’t say anything to her mother. He’s willing to take risks, but risks he’s comfortable with and people do that when they plan things out."
As seen on Dateline, the phone call supposedly gave the unidentified man time to carry out his act and provide the 10-year-old kid with a fake sense of security. After Margaret returned home that day at 5:30 p.m. and discovered that her daughter was still not home, a missing persons case was filed immediately
Marget said in a statement to the local media,
"Just find her. Tell her to come home, whatever is wrong, whatever is wrong, just have her come home."
As per witnesses at the shopping plaza, a girl matching Amy's description was seen at the Westgate Mall in Ohio. She was reportedly at the food court with a man who remains unidentified. According to deductions, the man was a white male in his early 30s with an approachable and friendly attitude, as detailed on Dateline.
How did new evidence over the years bring hope to the investigation?
On the day of her disappearance, Amy was reportedly wearing unique turquoise earrings but they were never found with her body. As per Detective Jay Eliish,
"It’s possible they were kept as a trophy."
As reported to Dateline, the police never found her backpack as well, but a distinctive green curtain was discovered 300 yards from the scene of the crime. As the investigation continued, DNA analysis of sample hair from the curtain revealed that they belonged to Amy's pet dog Jake, who was very close to her.
Furthermore, in January 2019, an unknown woman identified her former boyfriend as the potential killer. The man in question reportedly worked at Bay Village and on the night of the incident, he did not return home.
After the suspect was interrogated by the police he made some incriminating statements describing 1989-90 to be a 'dark phase' of his life. As per him, his DNA might be present on the piece of curtain but he 'did not put it there'.
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